Sports shorts
Golf Rohanna victorious
Robert Rohanna fired two-round total of 14-under 130 to capture Thursday’s Western Pennsylvania Golf Association Public Links Championship at Down River Golf Course in Everett, Pa.
Rohanna was the low golfer after 18 holes with a 5-under 67, before firing a blistering 9-under 63 to wrap up the championship.
Harvin Groft was runner-up at 7-under 137.
Rohanna and Groft will be exempt from qualifying for the 2007 West Penn Amateur, the Mid-Amateur and Open, if qualifying is needed. They will also be invited to compete in the WPGA’s Tournament of Champions next spring.
After Thursday’s victory, Rohanna was presented with the Karl Kauffman Trophy, named in honor of a Pittsburgh golfer who won the USGA Amateur Public Links Championship from 1927-29.
Rick Mottura (6-under), Tyler Tarney (3-under) and Tracy Smith (2-under) also finished under par. A total of 21 golfers competed in the event.
Hockey
Pens make another trade
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – The San Jose Sharks traded left wing Nils Ekman and goalie Patrick Ehelechner to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday for a second-round draft pick next season.
Ekman scored 112 points in 159 games for the Sharks over the past two seasons, playing on San Jose’s top line with MVP Joe Thornton and NHL goal-scoring champion Jonathan Cheechoo last year. Ekman also played with Tampa Bay for two seasons before joining the Sharks.
But the Swedish forward struggled with consistency and physical play, frequently landing in coach Ron Wilson’s doghouse. Ekman, the Sharks’ second-leading scorer with 57 points in 2003-04, also played poorly in the postseason for the second straight year.
The Sharks acquired Mark Bell from Chicago in a trade 10 days ago, apparently planning to put the power forward next to Thornton and Cheechoo.
Ehelechner, a fifth-round pick in 2003, played professionally in Germany for the last two seasons. The Sharks are loaded with strong goalie prospects, however.
MacTavish inks extension
EDMONTON (AP) – The Edmonton Oilers gave coach Craig MacTavish and president Patrick LaForge four-year contract extensions on Thursday.
MacTavish guided the Oilers to their first Stanley Cup final since 1990. They lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in game seven.
“From his role as a team captain while a player, to his tenure as coach of the Oilers, Craig has been a superb leader,” Oilers general manager Kevin Lowe said. “He has the unique ability of being demanding of the players, but he also has a great understanding of what makes today’s NHL player successful.”
The 47-year-old MacTavish has a 190-139-47-34 record in five seasons with the Oilers.
Laforge took over as president and CEO in 2000.